


I Want Nothing More

by kimtaehyungsleftpinky



Category: GOT7
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, OTP Feels, Ugh, You're Welcome, but really only in the 3rd chapter, deepseamermaid!Youngjae, i literally live for this ship, i love, lmao i decided to split this into multiple parts, otherwise it would've been long as fuck, there's a little hint of markjin, who am i kidding there's a lot of angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-11-06 16:20:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11039817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimtaehyungsleftpinky/pseuds/kimtaehyungsleftpinky
Summary: Youngjae, a rare deep sea mermaid, doesn't know how to cope when he develops a crush on a hot, yet dorky college student named Im Jaebum.





	1. Part 1

Youngjae knew the cafe would be busy because it was a week before finals but he didn’t expect people to be constantly flowing in and out like they were a never-ending river. Youngjae knew that he would have a long shift ahead of him, starting work at 4 and ending at closing time. College kids needed their caffeine in order to study their asses off for the important tests and Youngjae wished he could study too but no, he had to work. At least his co-workers made his shift a little more enjoyable so he wasn’t constantly looking at the clock.

His shift today was with Kunpimook, aka BamBam, and Jackson so it was bound to be entertaining with those two screaming and freaking out about literally every order. But honestly, Youngjae was the one who helped prevent the two from probably going insane since he was always labeled as “the bright kid who is always smiling”. Apparently he made people’s days by just smiling. He didn’t know exactly how he did but he was just born like that which was weird considering the circumstances under which he was born.

Youngjae can’t remember much of his childhood since it was spent in the pitch black of the ocean floor and he’s been living for so many years, he’s forgotten his birth name. Hell, he’s surprised he hasn’t forgotten his age yet. He’s 321 and as far as he knows, he’s one of the only ones left of his kind. Deep sea mermaids are nothing but a folklore, lost to both humans and surface mermaids alike. Yet here he is, a deep sea mermaid in the flesh, living on land among the humans to learn more about their kind and how they live. To be honest, Youngjae isn’t even sure how he ended up in South Korea. He was just exploring the ocean and somehow ended up here. He doesn’t really remember his actual parents either, only the kind fisherman and his wife that took him in and raised him thinking Youngjae was merely a foreign, human child abandoned on the beach. They’re the only ones who know his secret. They’re the only ones who know that Youngjae is a mermaid. Youngjae has been too frightened to reveal his secret identity to anyone, even his closest friends, Mark and Jinyoung, and Youngjae feels awful for hiding. There have been so many times when the two would want to go to the beach and he would either turn them down or end up going only to lie to them that he can’t swim when in fact he can swim better than any human.

“Hey...Hey! Earth to Youngjae!” The blonde snapped out of his daydreaming state when a certain Thai male called out to him while rushing to take orders. “It would be great if you could help Jackson because I think he’s going to have a meltdown.” Youngjae looked at Jackson who was frantically running around with multiple plastic cups in his hands, filling them with whatever order was written on the cup while muttering in rapid-paced Mandarin which Youngjae assumed was every type of profanity known to man.

“It’s too late. I think we’ve already lost him to the void.” Youngjae whispered to BamBam causing the other to snort. He figured he should probably start helping though before the Chinese male accidentally spilled something or put a tea bag into a cup of coffee. With as much enthusiasm as he could muster, Youngjae set to work preparing multiple espressos and lattes, hoping that the time would fly by.

* * *

The cafe was finally silent and Youngjae couldn’t be happier. It was the end of his shift and time for the cafe to close. BamBam and Jackson had already left, leaving Youngjae the only one to close for the night. The last customer had just left five minutes prior and Youngjae let out a sigh of relief. Now he could finally take down the “open” sign and put up the “closed” one. He glanced at his watch, again, relieved to see the time was 10:58. Now certainly no one would come in at the last minute.

The sound of the door hitting the little bell above it caused Youngjae to deflate. Of course. There was always that one person that just had to come in two freaking minutes before the cafe was set to close. Youngjae tried not to appear annoyed as he set down the blender he was cleaning out and plastered on a fake smile before turning around. His body was not prepared for stunning view.

He was probably the most beautiful human being Youngjae has ever seen. Youngjae would say second to himself but then he remembered, he wasn’t human. The man walked into the cafe, book bag slung around his shoulder. Ripped black skinny jeans perfectly outlined his legs, a plain white shirt that literally only he could pull off, a jean jacket on top of that, hair that was dyed a dark red but was starting to fade, a look on his face that could make any living thing weak in the knees, Youngjae was sure that he had never seen something so beautiful in his life and he’s lived a hella long one. Holy fu-

“I’m sorry to be that person to come in last minute but I really need strong coffee.” The stranger started. Youngjae blinked a couple of times before plastering a very real smile onto his face. Mr. Handsome continued, “I have a huge final tomorrow because my professor decided to give it to us early to just get it over with so it’s a long night of cramming ahead of me.” He laughed and ran a hand through his hair and Youngjae could feel his insides becoming a pile of mush and he hoped his face wasn’t going red. The laugh was like music to his ears. It was even prettier than the songs of the surface mermaids. 

Youngjae realized he was staring and awkwardly let out a cough and looked away. “Oh, that’s okay. I guess I can make an exception this time.” Youngjae chuckled as did the stranger. “What will you have? Double espresso? Straight up black coffee?” The man paused for a minute to glance over the menu behind Youngjae which gave Youngjae more time to just appreciate the people that made this human being. 

“I think I will take a venti black coffee, please.” Youngjae nodded and typed in the order on the register and wrote down the drink order on one of the plastic cups before setting it aside. After Youngjae took the required amount of money from the stranger, he picked the cup back up again. 

“Can I have a name for the order? I mean, I guess I don’t technically need it since you’re the only one in here but I’m required to.” Mr. Handsome laughed.

“Jaebum.” Youngjae scrawled his name in messy writing before turning to pour coffee into the cup, only to realize that he was out of coffee. He would have to make a new pot which took at least 10 minutes due to the coffee machine was probably older than Youngjae himself. 

“Ah, sorry, you’re going to have to wait about 10 minutes. I have to make another pot of coffee.” Youngjae explained while he busied himself grinding the coffee beans and putting the filter and everything into the machine. He turned around and stuck his hands in the pockets of the brown apron he was wearing. “I usually don’t expect people this late so I didn’t make another pot after the last one ran out.” 

Youngjae then looked around and saw the pastry case and got an idea. The blonde hurried and got a little paper plate and opened the cool pastry case and took out the last piece of red velvet cheesecake and put it on the plate. He stuck a small plastic fork in it before presenting it to Jaebum. “Here. To compensate for the wait.” When it looked like Jaebum was about to protest, Youngjae stopped him. “It’s fine, you can have it. I have to throw all the leftovers away anyways since we have to make everything fresh in the morning.”

“Thanks...Youngjae.” Jaebum paused in the middle to read Youngjae’s name tag, smiling with teeth so white, they could rival even the purest snow. Youngjae now understood what it was like to have butterflies in your stomach. He never really understood that phrase until now since no one had ever made him feel this way before. 

He returned the smile and then proceeded to untie the apron and hang it up in the back room before reappearing to find Jaebum sitting at one of the many unoccupied tables. Youngjae walked past him and flipped the sign on the door from “open” to “closed” before anyone else could come in. He turned his attention back to Jaebum while the other was in the middle of taking a bite of the cheesecake. Youngjae blushed because the way Jaebum was eating that cheesecake was downright sinful and should be declared illegal. It was almost like one of those yogurt commercials where the actress ate a spoonful and licked her lips in a “seductive” way except with Jaebum, it was way more entertaining to watch. He quickly blinked his eyes a couple of times, ridding himself of those thoughts before sitting down across from the male. 

“Hope you don’t mind some company, after all, I have nothing better to do while I wait for your coffee to brew.” Youngjae offered a small smile with Jaebum returned while shaking his head.  
“No, I don’t mind. In fact, you seem like a fun person so I’d like to know more about you.” Youngjae internally swooned. “So, what’s your full name and how old are you?” Of course, he just had to ask about Youngjae’s age.

“My name is Choi Youngjae and I am twenty years old. What about you, Jaebum?” Youngjae was used to lying about his age now because obviously no human could ever live to be 321. Jaebum smiled and replied, “I’m Im Jaebum and I am 23 years old.” Youngjae’s eyes widened. He didn’t expect the other male to be three years older than he was but then again, stranger things have happened. 

“So, what’s your major? And how did you get interested in it?” Youngjae tried to keep the conversation flowing in order to avoid awkwardness. 

“Well, I’m majoring in singing and…” Honestly, Youngjae zoned out after Jaebum started talking. And no, it totally wasn’t to look at his gorgeous face some more. Wow, he’s even more mesmerizing up close. Youngjae didn’t notice before but Jaebum had two small freckles above his left eye and he thought it was the cutest thing ever. That and just his whole face made Youngjae swoon like a prepubescent girl going to see her favorite boyband. The jawline, the way Jaebum ran his hand through his hair, his plump lips, his ear piercings, just everything about his was simply out of this world.

“Wow, you’re really hot.” As soon as the words left Youngjae’s mouth, the blonde realized that he had just voiced his thoughts outloud and his eyes widened in horror. Jaebum was silent before letting out a breath of laughter and Youngjae seriously wanted to go hide in a hole and never, ever come out. “Um, wait- I- uh, that’s not- I mean-” He covered his face with his hands and dropped his head on the table in embarrassment. Way-to-freaking-go Youngjae, you ruined a possible chance at dating this human. Way-to-freaking-go. 

Youngjae could hear Jaebum’s laughter subside and Youngjae cautiously looked up at him. Jaebum had a smile on his face. “I’m flattered you think so, Youngjae. You’re not so bad looking yourself.” He winked which made Youngjae’s heart almost explode.

Youngjae gained enough courage to sit up straight and give a meek smile to Jaebum, a rosy blush evident on his cheeks. “Oh, thanks, I guess.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Nobody has ever called me good looking before.” Jaebum folded his hand together on the table and grinned.

“People must be blind then.” Youngjae knew then that he was falling head over heels for the lovely human being known as Im Jaebum. Honestly, he fell even harder when Jaebum went to leave and ran face-first into the glass door. Yeah, he was a dork but a handsome as hell dork.

* * *

Jaebum and Youngjae exchanged numbers that day and the two eventually grew even closer. In fact, they were practically best friends by the time summer came around. However, as much as Youngjae loved summer, he dreaded it. With everybody wanting to go swimming in the ocean in order to gain some relief from the sun, it was hard for Youngjae to keep acting like he couldn’t swim. He would have to lie even more when his friends offer to teach him how to swim. He still went to the beach with them some days though but he usually just sat under the beach umbrella reading a book while his friends splashed around in the water. 

Today was one of those days. Youngjae was laying on an old bedsheet under the large, bright blue umbrella that he had brought with him to keep the sun from frying him into a crisp. He was reading a book and was quite content in his grey shirt and black shorts although he occasionally questioned why he would wear black in such warm weather. The sun was pretty bright so Youngjae was sporting a pair of aviators as well. 

He glanced up from his book to observe Mark and Jinyoung splashing around in the ocean, shirtless and clad in swim trunks. It looked like they were having a lot of fun together and it made Youngjae wonder why he was even there in the first place. He felt awkward and slightly unwanted, like he was third-wheeling a date. The thought caused Youngjae to snort. Mark and Jinyoung were pretty much a couple at this point although both boys were oblivious to the other’s feelings and always came to Youngjae with their doubts and questions when Youngjae’s answer never changed from the first 300 times they asked. He sighed as Mark picked up Jinyoung and threw the dark haired male over his shoulder, Jinyoung beating on Mark’s back, demanding to be put down only to have Mark laugh and refuse. If only his love life was that cute but you can’t exactly play fight with a fridge.

Ignoring the “couple”, Youngjae turned his attention to the ocean itself. The blue, crystalline water lapping at the sand called to Youngjae. It urged the blonde to jump in and swim to the very depths he called home. He wanted to see all of the creatures of the sea. Turtles, sharks, multi-colored fish, whales, Youngjae wanted to leave the human world behind and return to the salt water. However, he would miss all of his human friends and the people he considered family. His adoptive parents, Mark, Jinyoung, Jaebum...yeah, especially Jaebum.

Speaking of Jaebum, Youngjae wondered what the other was doing right now. Closing his book and rolling onto his back, Youngjae opened his phone and smiled when he was met with a picture of him and Jaebum as his background. He opened his messaging app.

To Jaebumie <3: Jaebum-hyung, I’m boooored. Mark-hyung and Jinyoung-hyung dragged me to the beach again :(

From Jaebumie <3: Well, what do you want me to do about it?

To Jaebumie <3: Come and entertain me :D

From Jaebumie <3: Nah, don’t feel like it

To Jaebumie <3: Wow, I thought we were friends TT

From Jaebumie <3: but you can come over if you want

From Jaebumie <3: you’ll have to walk though :)

To Jaebumie <3: i’m not walking all the way back to Seoul, screw that

From Jaebumie <3: just kidding! I’ll come get you 

To Jaebumie <3: yay! :D 

From Jaebumie <3: :)

Youngjae set down his phone and looked up to see Mark and Jinyoung walking towards him, laughing at each other. Youngjae sat up and crossed his legs as the two sat down next to him. 

“Youngjae! You need to go into the ocean! It’s so hot out, I don’t know how you’re not dying of a heart stroke yet.” Mark started and gestured to the ocean behind him. Youngjae shook his head.

“I’m okay, Mark-hyung.” Youngjae smiled and pointed to his feet. “I even went and stood in the water for a little bit so you can’t complain!” The three men laughed. “By the way, I think I’m going to leave early.”

Mark and Jinyoung’s eyes widened. “But why? Aren’t you having fun?” Jinyoung asked Youngjae.

“It’s not that I’m not having fun.” He explained. “Jaebum wants to hang out so he’s coming to pick me up.” Youngjae blushed and avoided eye contact when Jaebum’s name fell from his lips. Mark and Jinyoung whooped and playfully pushed Youngjae’s shoulders. They knew about Youngjae’s crush on Jaebum and they never stopped teasing him. Ever. 

“Oh, I see.” Jinyoung smiled and winked at Youngjae. “If you’re with Jaebum, it’s totally okay. Right, Mark?” The older male nodded. 

“Remember to use protection!” Mark teased and Youngjae gasped and blushed even harder. 

“It’s not like that! We are only friends and nothing more!” He protested and buried his face in his hands, attempting to hide from his embarrassment. Just thinking about Jaebum in that way made Youngjae blush even harder if that was even possible. “Besides, Jaebum would never like me in that kind of way.” This statement earned collective groans from Mark and Jinyoung.

“Not with that attitude.” Jinyoung countered. “Youngjae, trust me. I am positive he likes you so stop being in denial and be a little more confident!” Youngjae shrugged and brought his knees up to his chest.

The trio sat there in silence for a couple of seconds before Mark smiled softly and scooted next to Youngjae and started to rub his back. “Hey, I’m with Jinyoung on this one. Just be yourself and Jaebum, if he hasn’t already, will fall for you in no time.” Mark spoke. “Now, let’s throw around a football or something for fun before Jaebum gets here.” The oldest stood up and reached out his hand to help Youngjae up. Youngjae smiled and took his hand, allowing himself to be pulled up. 

Mark and Jinyoung were such good friends. Always encouraging and cheering Youngjae on from the sidelines as if he was their own son. Too bad Youngjae couldn’t be like them. Too bad he had to lie to them every time they were together. Too bad he couldn’t just be honest about what he was. These thoughts always nagged at Youngjae, taunting him and smiling when he would break down and no matter how hard Youngjae tried to rid himself of them, they always came back. 

And the thoughts progressively got worse as he got closer to Jaebum as well.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Idk what to put here tbh

“DAMN YOU IM JAEBUM!” 

“Ha, catch me if you can, Youngjae!” Jaebum laughed as Youngjae hit yet another one of his banana peels and Youngjae was about to lose it. He had lost every single race that they had played ever since Youngjae got here and he was fed up with the disrespect. Now Youngjae wasn’t exactly bad at Mario Kart but Jaebum was damn ruthless at it. Youngjae was in first place for probably two seconds before a blue shell hit him and Jaebum took the lead.

Youngjae groaned as Jaebum won for the nth time that evening. Jaebum smiled and whooped as he poked Youngjae’s sides, gloating about his victory. “Awe~, are you mad, Youngjae?” Rather than admitting he was upset, Youngjae huffed and stood up.

“I’ll start dinner.” He stood up off the black living room couch and walked toward the kitchen and grabbed his cell phone. What he meant by “starting dinner” was that he was going to order chicken because Jaebum had zero things to cook with in his fridge. Youngjae leaned on the counter, back turned to Jaebum as he was ordering their food. He had just hung up the phone when a pair of hands jabbed at his sides causing Youngjae to let out a startled scream as he spasmed to escape the hands.

Jaebum and Youngjae fell to the floor, Jaebum on top on Youngjae as he smirked and continued to jab at Youngjae’s sides.

Youngjae didn’t want to laugh but Jaebum’s fingers had poked him right in the spots where he was ticklish. Plus, it wasn’t like he could stay mad at Jaebum.

Falling to the floor, Jaebum grinned devilishly as he continued to attack Youngjae’s sides, the younger male squirming and giggling under him. 

“St-ha-stop it!” Youngjae pleaded as he felt tears of laughter threatening to escape his eyes. He writhed and squirmed, trying to get away from Jaebum but the older male was stronger than Youngjae and kept the blonde in place as he tickled him. 

“No.” Jaebum smirked. “Not unless you declare me as the Ultimate Mario Kart Supreme Overlord.” He pinned Youngjae’s arms above his head with one hand while the other continued it’s ruthless attack on the other boy’s sides. 

Youngjae tried profusely to free his hands but Jaebum was too strong and Youngjae finally stopped struggling against the older boy’s hold. “Fine. Im Jaebum is the Ultimate Mario Kart Supreme Overlord.” Youngjae laughed out. “Satisfied?”

Jaebum faked a pensive look and and then made eye contact with Youngjae. His bangs hung low and he licked his lips causing Youngjae to internally scream. “Actually,” Jaebum started in a low voice. “No.” Youngjae could barely process what was happening before another pair of lips was on his own and his eyes flew wide open and blood rush to his face.

 

Neither of the men moved for a second until Jaebum slowly started moving his lip against Youngjae’s. Youngjae couldn’t help but flutter his eyes shut and kiss Jaebum back. Jaebum lips were soft and they weren’t chapped at all. In fact, they tasted like sweet mint, almost as if Jaebum had been planning to kiss Youngjae this whole time. His brain screamed at Youngjae to stop, to not fall into the trap called love but it was impossible. Youngjae had already been caught and there was no escaping the man above him, softly kissing Youngjae as if the younger would shatter into pieces if he kissed any harder. 

Tentatively, Youngjae raised his hands and threaded his fingers through Jaebum’s red hair, completely lost in the moment. He pulled back for breath after and second, chest rising and falling as if he had just run 10 miles. Jaebum’s brown eyes stared in Youngjae’s with an emotion Youngjae couldn’t really describe since no one had ever looked at him that way before. Admiration? Infatuation? Need? None of these words seemed good enough to Youngjae.

Jaebum’s lips formed a soft smile. “Now I’m satisfied.” Then he stood up and offered one of his hands to Youngjae. The younger took it and stood up, silently wishing for the flush on his face to disappear. They just looked into each other’s eyes, both trying to find words for the situation when the doorbell suddenly rang. Jaebum snapped out of his trance and told Youngjae he would get the door.

Youngjae sat at the small dining room table and tried to process his train of thought. The rational side of him knew he would only end up in pain if he got into a relationship with Jaebum, regardless whether Jaebum accepted the truth about Youngjae, rejected it, or if Youngjae never told Jaebum about himself at all. After all, a human’s life span rarely went past 85 to 90 years if they didn’t die even earlier than that. How would a mermaid like Youngjae, who lived for centuries, ever be in a stable relationship with a human being when he would outlive them whether they accepted him or not? 

He rested his chin on his hands and frowned. But he really liked Jaebum, like, REALLY liked Jaebum. It would be a shame to just drop him like he was nothing. Plus, the taste of Jaebum’s lips still lingered on Youngjae’s and Youngjae couldn’t help but smile at the thought.

“What are you smiling about?” Youngjae jumped a little when Jaebum spoke and sat in front of him, placing the boxes of chicken on the table.

“Oh nothing.” Youngjae replied in a pleasant voice and smiled at Jaebum who was smiling back. He started to then open the boxes; his mouth watering when his eyes landed on the chicken.

“Hey, Youngjae, can I ask you a question?” Youngjae looked up.

“You technically just did.” 

Jaebum smiled and rolled his eyes. “Do you want to, I don’t know, go out on a date sometime?” 

Youngjae’s brain screamed at him to say no. “Yes. I’d love that.” Well, there goes all of Youngjae’s rationality out the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um yeah, i know this is short but i felt like I had to post SOMETHING to apologize for my short hiatus.
> 
> And so this will be 4 parts now instead of 3.
> 
> s/n: unedited


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Withdrawls finally hit Youngjae full-force

Youngjae didn’t know what time it was when it started. He was only aware that it was darker than pitch, everything silent. Too silent. Only one word was registering in his brain. 

 

Water.

 

One word but it spoke louder than any cohesive sentence Youngjae had ever thought, spoken, or heard. He was an idiot. How could he forget about one of the most things he needed to do in order to survive? Idiot….idiot….idiot…

 

Youngjae finally wrenched his eyes open and silently gasped. The pain….the pain was almost unbearable. It felt like he was having an asthma attack but he could still inhale and exhale perfectly fine. Oxygen was entering and leaving his lungs but it felt as though his whole body couldn’t breathe. Youngjae had always been careful enough to never let this happen but now it was happening and he didn’t know what to do.

 

Tears streamed down his face as he glanced around for anything that could smother the pain at least for a little bit. The room he was in wasn’t familiar though. It briefly crossed Youngjae’s mind that he had spent the night at a hotel next to the ocean, a spur-of-the-moment trip organized by Jaebum. Another wave of pain crashed over Youngjae and the blonde had to grit his teeth in order to hold in any whimpers that could wake up the still sleeping figure next to him.

 

Then, as if his body had a mind of its own, Youngjae slowly rose from the bed and began walking out of the room. Youngjae only cried harder because this was unfamiliar to him. He didn’t understand why he was moving, why he was walking out of the hotel in the middle of the night, why he didn’t even leave a note for the older male to find when he woke up.

 

All Youngjae knew was that his body was heading to the ocean. The body of water called to him, the voices in his head screaming at him to return to the underwater world. He pushed the button on the elevator, leaning against the wall because he could barely hold himself up. The elevator dinged and Youngjae stumbled into it, slamming his thumb on the 1st floor button. Pain erupted in Youngjae’s body and he collapsed on the floor, more tears spilling out of his eyes, pathetic sobs escaping his mouth, sweat dripping down his forehead. 

 

He got to the first floor and, when the pain subsided, gripped the bar in the elevator in order to pull himself to his feet. It took most of his effort to do so and Youngjae tripped out of the elevator and dragged his body to the door. He wasn’t aware of most of his surroundings and definitely wasn’t aware of the voice calling after him as he walked out of the hotel and onto the quiet street.

 

The silence was deafening which only made the voices seem louder and Youngjae had to cover his ears in hopes that it would make it better. He continued on the sidewalk towards the ocean which was slowly coming into view. Youngjae cried in relief and wished he could break into a sprint, to get to the water faster. In that moment, he didn’t care about his parents or his friends or Jaebum. He just wanted to be in the ocean and never return to land.

 

These thoughts were soon dismissed when a more intense pain ripped through his body, starting from his feet and travelling through his legs, abdomen, and up to his head. Youngjae tripped on a crack in the sidewalk and fell on his hands and knees and dry heaved. 

 

A hand falling on his shoulder startled Youngjae so much, the blonde whipped around, slapping the hand away with so much force, the owner of the hand stumbled back a couple of steps. Youngjae couldn’t tell who it was because of his tear-blurred vision but he frankly didn’t care. 

 

“Don’t fucking touch me!” He growled out through clenched teeth. Most of the pain had stopped for now and Youngjae shakily stood up and continued walking. He was only a couple of steps from the beach when he felt the hand again, which only made him angry. He wasn’t even sure why he was angry.

 

“Youngjae, what are you-” The man was cut off when Youngjae turned and lunged for the collar of the man’s shirt, gripping it so tightly, his knuckles turned white. Youngjae could see a bit better now and he recognized the man to be Jaebum but Youngjae’s brain and train of thought were so far gone now that his eyes did not hold even a single ounce of happiness or affection. All that was in Youngjae’s eyes was pure hatred and pain.

 

The fear in Jaebum’s eyes as Youngjae held him was reciprocate by the other. Youngjae pulled Jaebum in so close, their noses were barely touching.

 

“I said,” Youngjae spat. “Don’t fucking touch me.” He threw Jaebum to the ground and turned his back to him as he made his way onto the sandy beach. Youngjae’s pajama bottoms were the least of Youngjae’s concerns as he inched his way into the ocean. He sighed as the contact with the water relieved a little bit of the pain that had been tormenting his body that night. 

 

Youngjae waded in until he was up to the middle of his thighs and sobbed. He was about to dive in when a pair of arms wrapping around his waist, preventing him from doing so.

 

Youngjae’s anger had disappeared for the most part, washing away with the water that was lapping at Youngjae’s thighs but the arms only made him frustrated. He tried to fight against them, more tears falling out of his eyes because he was so close, so close to being free of pain. 

 

“Youngjae! Stop!” Jaebum had never raised his voice at Youngjae before but Youngjae wasn’t afraid, he just kept fighting. However, Jaebum’s grip seemed a lot stronger than Youngjae had anticipated.

 

“Let me go! Please, Jaebum!” Youngjae pleaded, kicking up water while he thrashed.

 

Jaebum held onto Youngjae tighter. “No. I refuse to let you go Youngjae! I can’t let you do this!” His voice cracked and Youngjae finally sagged in his arms, spent. In the blink of an eye, Jaebum spun Youngjae around and crushed him in a hug, causing Youngjae to sob harder if that was even possible. “No matter how unhappy you are, suicide isn’t the answer.”

 

Youngjae pushed Jaebum off of him and met Jaebum’s hurt eyes with his tear-filled ones. “Youngjae…”

 

Youngjae’s emotions flooded back to him now that he wasn’t completely in pain. Looking at the broken look on Jaebum’s face only made leaving harder for him. But if he turned now, Jaebum would find out what Youngjae really was and Jaebum would hate him. He would hate Youngjae and it would break Youngjae’s heart even more so Youngjae decided he would just have to break Jaebum’s heart first.

 

“Jaebum, just let me leave. Can’t you see I’m not happy here?” Youngjae’s heart fell with Jaebum’s face. Youngjae choked back a whimper when he saw the older male was close to crying.

 

“But Youngjae, you have family that loves you. You have friends that love you. I love you for fucks sake!” Jaebum raised his voice at the last sentence. “You can’t do this, please.”

 

Youngjae would’ve admired the way the ocean breeze tousled his red hair. He would’ve love to stay and smell the salt in the air with Jaebum. He would love to stay with his family and friends. He would love to stay with Jaebum but he knew that his time on land was well over spent.

 

“Nobody could ever love someone like me.” Youngjae croaked. “You all deserve better than me.” Jaebum frantically shook his head and took a step towards Youngjae, causing the blonde to recoil. Youngjae could see Jaebum’s heart breaking into a million pieces. He wanted to hug Jaebum and tell him that this was all a joke, that Youngjae was madly in love with him but he couldn’t.

 

“You don’t mean that, Youngjae. Stop saying all of this bullshit!” Jaebum cried and Youngjae bit his lip and avoided Jaebum’s eye. “I don’t think I could live without you, Youngjae.” He practically whispered.

 

“Listen Jaebum, I’m not committing suicide but I am leaving.” Jaebum’s face contorted in confusion and opened his mouth to say something but youngjae interrupted him. “I know that doesn’t make any sense but my parents will tell you if you are really that curious.” He paused before continuing. “I know you will be okay because we can both survive without each other.”

 

“Youngjae, you don’t understand-”

 

“No, Jaebum, I don’t understand. I don’t understand how you thought I was in love with you this whole time!” Youngjae wanted to take the words back as soon as he said them but he continued, knowing this would ultimately break Jaebum even though it felt like Youngjae was breaking himself more. “I don’t understand why I have to live the life I live, why I’m destined to be in the water instead of on land!”

 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Jaebum snapped and reached out to grab Youngjae’s hand when the other turned his back on the red haired male. “Tell me, Youngjae!”

 

Angry tears now ran down Youngjae’s cheeks as he whipped around. “Do you want to know? Fine. I’m a fucking mermaid, Jaebum. An abomination of the ocean.” Youngjae ripped his hand out of Jaebum’s. “Now you can laugh at me, tell me that I’m crazy, point at me and call me a freak! Do you understand why I must go now? Why I’m standing in the ocean in the middle of the night?”

 

Youngjae turned and waded further into the water until he was up to his waist. Jaebum stayed silent behind him and Youngjae let out a dry laugh. “Of course you wouldn’t understand. You’re a human so you would never understand. Life is full of poisonous choices and one of mine just so happens to be the one I’m making right now.” He inhaled the salty air and tipped his head up to look at the full moon and the stars that jeweled the sky.

 

“So good-bye Jaebum. I hope you live a good life without me.”

 

“Youngjae.” Jaebum wrapped his arms around Youngjae’s waist yet again. “Let me show you something.”

 

Before Youngjae could protest, Jaebum tugged the both of them underwater and Youngjae could stop himself from transforming. He felt his legs morph into his 50-foot pitch black tail and he felt his clothes magically disappear off him. His night vision came back to him and his full transformation had completed. And it felt so damn good.

 

Youngjae couldn’t remember the last time he had transformed and it felt great to have a tail again. He then remembered Jaebum and he looked around, not finding him anywhere. Panic set in and Youngjae swam around frantically until he found Jaebum’s head peeking from behind a rock.

 

Youngjae approached him slowly. “Jaebum...please don’t hide from me. Oh god, you hate me now, don’t you?” Jaebum shook his head and came out from behind the rock and Youngjae almost had a heart attack.

 

“No, I don’t hate you.” In place of Jaebum’s legs was a sleek crimson red tail. It wasn’t nearly as long as Youngjae’s though so Jaebum was a…

 

“You’re a surface mermaid?” Youngjae practically screamed in shock. Jaebum sheepishly grinned at Youngjae.

 

“Surprise?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm sorry this took so long guys. I did not have access to a computer for a while and then I just had writer's block for a hell of a long time. BUT THANK YOU FOR ALL THE LOVE SERIOUSLY GUYS I LOVE YALL!
> 
> This is not edited yet btw so there are probably many mistakes lmao

**Author's Note:**

> oh look who hasn't posted in eons *points at self* 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this part of the one shot! Honestly, it was going to be one huge chapter but then I was like lol nah
> 
> Feedback is appreciated!!! :)
> 
> (unedited)


End file.
